Open Illinois.org http://www.openillinois.org Shining light on Illinois government Fri, 12 Mar 2010 00:03:31 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en 536 State Pensions Greater than $100K Using our transparency website, IllinoisOpenGov.org, I found that 536 state retirees received pensions greater than $100,000 in 2009. The sum of these top pensions equaled $68,236,729.44. The largest pension was $212,536.44 for Ivan Pavkovic, a former employee of the…

]]> http://www.openillinois.org/government-spending/536-state-pensions-greater-than-100k/ $100K to the Chicago International Film Festival In fiscal year 2009, the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity gave $101,500 to the Chicago International Film Festival. That amount includes an $80,000 grant (grant #09333010), $11,500 for “Fee Agency Participation The Chicago International,” and a $10,000 fee…

]]> http://www.openillinois.org/government-spending/100k-to-the-chicago-international-film-festival/ 3,829 State Employees Made Over $100,000 in 2009 Using information from IllinoisOpenGov.org I found that in 2009, 3,829 Illinois state employees made more than $100,000 in wages.  The combined wages paid to these employees equaled $498,887,897.90.  The highest paid state employee was Vera Davis, a Physician with…

]]> http://www.openillinois.org/uncategorized/3829-state-employees-made-over-100000-in-2009/ Payments to the Mississippi River Parkway Commission Using our transparency website, IllinoisOpenGov.org, I found that in 2009, the State of Illinois paid $30,800 in total to the Mississippi River Parkway Commission. The Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity paid the MRPC $15,000 for a…

]]> http://www.openillinois.org/government-spending/payments-to-the-mississippi-river-parkway-commission/ $250,000 to the Western Kentucky Carbon Storage Foundation Using information from IllinoisOpenGov.org, I found that in 2009, the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity gave the Western Kentucky Carbon Storage Foundation a grant worth $250,000.00.  Western Kentucky Carbon is a foundation which was created when…

]]> http://www.openillinois.org/uncategorized/250000-to-the-western-kentucky-carbon-storage-foundation/ 482 People, $225,678.72 in Funding Using our transparency website, IllinoisOpenGov.org, I found that in fiscal year 2009, the Village of Allendale, population 482, received $13,563.72 in “shared revenue payments” from the Department of Transportation, and a grant, number 06242002 (given in two installments…

]]> http://www.openillinois.org/uncategorized/482-people-225678-72-in-funding/ $570K on Registration Fees and Conference Expenses Using our transparency website, IllinoisOpenGov.org, I found that in 2007, 2008, and 2009, various state agencies spent a total of $574,759.74 on registration fees and other conference expenses. In 2008, the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity spent…

]]> http://www.openillinois.org/government-spending/570k-on-registration-fees-and-conference-expenses/ Over $2,000 for Lighting at the Ethnic Village Using information from our transparency website, IllinoisOpenGov.org, I found that in 2008, the Department of Commerce gave B+B Electric Incorporated $2,464.00 to provide electrical support for lighting at the Ethnic Village.  The Ethnic Village is an attraction…

]]> http://www.openillinois.org/uncategorized/over-2000-for-lighting-at-the-ethnic-village/ $60K for Educational and Instructional Materials and Supplies Using our transparency website, IllinoisOpenGov.org, I found that in 2008 and 2009 (up until the time of our FOIA requests), various state agencies spent $62,753.48 on educational and instructional materials and supplies. The departments that spent the most were…

]]> http://www.openillinois.org/government-spending/60k-for-educational-and-instructional-materials-and-supplies/ Government Salaries vs. Private Sector Salaries USA Today highlights yet another good reason for government spending transparency:

Average federal salaries exceed average private-sector pay in 83% of comparable occupations.

Citizens want transparent government for many reasons, and being able to easily review government salaries –…

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